Bitcoin whales, those holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC, have collectively decreased their Bitcoin reserves by approximately 220,000 BTC. On-chain analytics reveal that this reduction is the most rapid seen since early 2023. Such behavior from these major holders may suggest they are bracing for a more significant market downturn in the near term.
In light of ongoing volatility within the cryptocurrency landscape, large Bitcoin holders are exercising caution. Data from Glassnode highlights that whales with holdings ranging from 1K to 10K BTC have trimmed their balances down to around 220,000 BTC over the past year. Notably, their peak holdings reached nearly 409,000 BTC as recently as March 2024.
Whales Holding Between One Thousand and Ten Thousand Bitcoins Experience Sharpest Decline Since Early Last Year
🚨 MAJOR BITCOIN HOLDERS ARE NOT BUYING THE DIP
Wallets containing between one thousand and ten thousand bitcoins have reduced their total holdings by about two hundred twenty thousand bitcoins during the last twelve months after peaking at roughly four hundred nine thousand bitcoins in March of this year.
This marks the fastest drop observed since early in twenty-twenty-three. pic.twitter.com/XV13XWvc0D
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) January 9, 2026
The Coin Bureau points out that this contraction represents an unprecedented pace of decline not witnessed since last year. The reluctance among these whale investors to increase crypto asset purchases implies they might be expecting a deeper price correction ahead.
A similar cautious trend is visible among Bitcoin ETF investors as well. According to data compiled by SosoValue — an ETF tracking platform — Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows totaling $681 million last week alone. January seventh stood out as particularly negative with withdrawals amounting to $486 million on that day alone. Although Monday saw positive inflows worth $697 million which was substantial, it wasn’t sufficient enough to sustain buying momentum throughout the rest of the week.
December’s figures were even more pronounced with net ETF outflows exceeding one billion dollars overall. The start of twenty-twenty-six has been slow for these funds too: cumulative net withdrawals already total nearly two hundred ten million dollars since January began.
An earlier report from Cryptopolitan dated January third highlighted how expectations around whale accumulation had been overstated given ongoing distribution patterns evident through on-chain metrics. Julio Moreno — head researcher at CryptoQuant — commented via X (formerly Twitter) noting “whales are not buying an enormous amount of Bitcoin.”
Moreno explained that much apparent whale activity stems largely from exchange wallets consolidating assets into fewer addresses rather than genuine accumulation by individual whales themselves; when excluding all exchange-controlled addresses from analysis reveals a consistent decrease in actual whale balances over time.
This aligns with recent observations showing increased whale deposits onto exchanges reaching levels unseen for ten months—a potential indicator signaling upcoming selling pressure within markets just as Bitcoin surged back above ninety thousand dollars mid-December highs were revisited once again recently according to Cryptopolitan coverage.
The ratio measuring large holder presence on exchanges climbed up toward half (0.&504), emphasizing Binance’s dominant role where it accounts for seventy-one percent of stablecoin deposits globally alongside substantial inbound flows of native bitcoin tokens actively traded across its platform volume-wise—the largest worldwide crypto exchange hub remains central here too regarding inflow concentration trends affecting market dynamics directly.
Binance Sees Significant Growth Inflow Of Bitcoins Over Past Two Years
Data sourced via CryptoQuant further reveals Binance has experienced steadily rising bitcoin inflows during recent years culminating in record mean daily inflow rates—22.&81 recorded just this past January month specifically—with such patterns mirroring previous periods marked by heightened selling activities including notable events occurring throughout twenty-twenty-five’s timeline itself where whales capitalized immediately following October liquidation episodes aiming profit-taking before prices declined further substantially afterward.
Nevertheless not every major holder is offloading coins: on January seventh three distinct wallets acquired roughly three thousand bitcoins valued near two hundred eighty million dollars combined suggesting renewed confidence possibly sparked after bitcoin surpassed ninety-thousand-dollar mark according Santiment insights while Coin Bureau pointed out late December half realized capitalization originated directly due new institutional or high-net-worth entrants purchasing without waiting for steep discounts or corrections beforehand thus absorbing supply aggressively at elevated price points recently observed across markets overall supporting stronger demand fundamentals currently present now compared historically speaking previously documented phases alike .
The current trading price stands close to ninety-thousand six hundred sixty-seven US dollars per coin based upon aggregated figures reported through platforms like CoinMarketCap indicating modest gains (+1.&12%) over past day though still facing resistance attempting breakouts beyond ninety-five-thousand dollar thresholds revisited briefly earlier this month (January fifth).